Boston's Jewish Renaissance

Fifteen years after a study on the rise of interfaith marriages had Jewish leaders bemoaning their religion's slow death, Judaism is thriving in Boston. What's more surprising is who's leading the revival.

Boston's oldest synagogue, the Vilna Shul on Beacon Hill, now serves as a cultural center and an informal place to experience Judaism. David Gerzof, 30, standing at the rear during a service, helps organize events at the shul. (Globe Staff Photo / Essdras M. Suarez) Globe Staff Photo / Essdras M. Suarez

By Doug Most

November 6, 2005

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There are ghosts in here. You can feel them in the peeling walls, the dirty floor tiles, the wooden pews, and the 100-year-old mahogany ark that holds the Torah scrolls. And if you close your eyes, you can see them. It's a Friday night in, say, 1925. Men walk to this synagogue dressed in gray suits, crisp white shirts, and ... (Full article: 4535 words)